General Election 2015: Brits would trust a fictional dog more than political leaders

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Lynsey Barber

I'm City A.M.'s award-winning technology editor, covering everything from happenings at Apple and Google to the latest London startup.

In particular fintech, blockchain, artifical intelligence, driverless cars, virtual reality and the sharing economy get me out of bed in the morning.

I'm always trying to illustrate stories with pictures of dogs. Sometimes with some success.

I was named technology journalist of the year at the UK Tech Awards.

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Lynsey Barber

New Prime Minister in May? (Source: Getty)

Forget David Cameron versus Ed Miliband, there's a new candidate in town leading the polls in the popularity stakes.

In what can only be described as a damning indictment of politics today, Britons think a dog is more trustworthy than any of the current candidates who could potentially become Prime Minister in May.

Nearly three-quarters of the public would trust man's best friend to run the country over Cameron, Nick Clegg, Miliband or Nigel Farage.

In this dog eat dog world, the online survey of 1,000 Brits by TNS and Pickup biscuits, found fictional dogs Lassie and Gromit were more trusted than any other leader - by a very long margin.

The two characters were voted most trustworthy by 35 per cent, while just 14 per cent chose Cameron and less than 10 per cent went for any other leader.

Perhaps its Lassie’s ability to eat a bacon sandwich more elegantly than party leaders, or her willingness to appear in parliamentary debates? She would also be good at rescuing policies that have been kicked into the long grass/down wells.

Gromit was also a favourite (insert Miliband joke here), presumably gaining big backing from the British cheese and sheep farming industries. Of course, Gromit also recognises the importance of tech innovation for economic growth.

They're not the only fictional characters entering the political arena either.

Another poll reveals the cartoon characters people most associate with each party leader. David Cameron becomes Dick Dastardly from Wacky Races, Ed Miliband becomes Mr Bean and Nick Clegg is Fred from Scooby Doo…. which works out well.